Knowing What Editors Want
By Nadia Brown
For a while, I used to think that editors were oftentimes too strict and too
demanding of writers. I basically felt that writers were doing them a favor by
submitting to their publications and those editors had no reason to act like
little dictators. Well, that opinion changed when I began editing a quarterly
online poetry journal that I began two years ago. I was now one of them, and
began to experience what they’ve experienced. I could now empathize with
editors and realized why they came across the way they did. In the process I
also learned that writers don’t realize that knowing what editors want is as
important as submitting quality work.
We often hear an emphasis on submitting work that is not plagued by misspellings and
grammatical errors, and that is valid, but writers often do not get
published because they do not know what editors are looking for! A writer will
never be able to get inside editors’ heads and psychoanalyze them before
submitting their work; however, if those submitting work would take the time to
read the guidelines, read the publication that they are interested in submitting
to, and ask questions if they're unsure about the submission process, writers would have a general idea of what editors want.
Every publication has guidelines and rules that editors would like to have
followed. I was surprised how many people have trouble doing that! When I
started my journal, I was amazed how some people just could not follow
directions. I would make sure that my sentences were comprehensible. I would
even go so far as to bold certain sentences or words to emphasize the point I
was trying to make. And after doing so, I would still have people not adhering
to the guidelines. It is not as if they were long and complicated documents
that couldn’t be followed. This leads me to believe that writers get too caught
up in submitting their work and do not take the time to follow instructions.
And this will cause a writer to do exactly what an editor doesn’t want her
to do, and could be the very thing that prevents her work from being
published.
Additional ways of
discerning what editors want are for writers to read the publication’s current or
archived issues, and ask questions if they are unsure of what’s being requested
of them. Those who are submitting work will have a much better understanding of
what editors are looking for if they take the time to review the publication
that they have interest in submitting to. This will give them a feel for the e-zine
and an insight as to the type of work an editor publishes. Since almost all
publications allow for contact, writers must also ask questions if they do not
completely understand what an editor requires of them. This should be done
before submitting their work. Most, if not all, editors are willing to answer
questions from those interested in submitting their work. And writers should
take full advantage of being able to have their questions asked.
Nadia Brown’s poetry has appeared in various print and online publications
throughout the web. Her newly released book of poetry, Unscrambled Eggs,
is her first full-length book collection. You can learn more about her work at
www.nadiabrown.com.
